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Developmental Milestones

birth to 3 months

Babies are a miracle of sensory development. Their eyes focus well only at around eight inches for the first month of life. Still, this allows them to concentrate on what’s most important––studying their parents’ faces and the faces of those who feed and care for them. Newborns also respond to bright colors, bright lights and objects put near their faces.

Infants’ hearing is comparable to that of adults. In fact, soon after birth, infants have been shown to prefer music they heard while in utero. They can be startled by sudden, loud noises. Newborns’ sense of smell is developed enough for them to be able to identify their mother’s smell.

In the first three months, a baby’s energy is devoted to self-regulation in the areas of eating and sleeping. Still, they take in any information that acts upon them. Body movement is at first random and erratic. But each passing week brings more interaction with the environment, more smiling, and more control of those tiny hands which wave in front of baby’s own face.

Neck muscles are not strong enough to support the head adequately so your help is needed for the first few months. A hand will grasp an object placed in the palm, though it is only a reflex action.

By the third month, babies have become social beings, eager to smile, clearly recognizing familiar people, and delighted with attention. You can build a foundation of special, shared times by relating through games played together.